Business Senator Kevin Herrera also weighed in on the debate. He questioned if the Briceño Administration has set the bar too high at two hundred and fifty million U.S. dollars. Senator Christopher Coye explained that for the first time in 2022, Belize has surpassed a billion dollars in investments by domestic and foreign investors.
Kevin Herrera, Business Senator
“My question is where does these two hundred and fifty million dollars come from? If we develop a policy or we pass a policy such as this today, will it be effective to capture the type of investments we want to capture. Two hundred and fifty million U.S dollars in such a small economy like this seems excessive, especially if you look at it in the context of our annual budget. You could round it off to two billion dollars in terms of spending for a year and so if you look at two hundred and fifty million U.S., you are actually looking at twenty-five percent of the total annual budget. Which is a large amount, so I don’t know where the two hundred and fifty million or five hundred million Belize dollars is coming from, but it seems pretty large. In my mind I am wondering if we will really have investments of this size and if the objective is to provide these incentives so that you could attract investments in these areas, that bar may be a little bit high.”
Christopher Coye
Christopher Coye, Government Senator
“Between 2009 and 2019 the average growth in investment, that is measures by gross fix capital formation on our G.D.P. stats, was on average growth about one point four percent a year. In 2020, because of COVID, it dramatically contracted by twelve percent. But in 2021 we saw a tremendous increase in investment and that investment is not foreign direct investment only. It includes local investment. That increase was upward of thirty-eight percent in 2021 alone. It increased further in 2022 by another twenty percent. In 2023, this is preliminary, but it is roughly twelve percent increase. That is in stark contrast to an average investment growth rate of about one to one and a half percent in the prior dozen years.”
Residents in Dangriga are anticipating the start of a fifty-million-dollar project to rebuild the Commerce Bight Port. The construction phase and the completion of the project will reportedly create numerous job opportunities for residents in southern Belize. The project is being undertaken as a public-private partnership in collaboration with Southern Deep Port Limited. So, it was brought to the Senate today for debate. Here is how that went.
Eamon Courtenay
Eamon Courtenay, Lead Government Senator
“It is expected that this will create jobs and most importantly a new part of the tourism sector which is a marina where yachts can come in harbor and enjoy the beauty of Belize and be based there. I understand from the Minister of Tourism that in Guatemala in Rio Dulce the yachts have to come out of the country of Guatemala for a minimum of three months. They would love to do it in Belize but there is no marina. This seems to be a solution to that particular problem, aside from attracting other yachts that want to use marinas in our water. Most importantly it will provide economic stimulus for residents of Stann Creek District, creating jobs, attracting investments and we believe this will be very beneficial to the economy of Belize.”
Michael Peyrefitte
Michael Peyrefitte, Lead Opposition Senator
“Who are these people? Who is this developer we are talking about that we will give a port of entry to? I ask it genuinely. I see that the agreement was signed by an Emilio Zabaneh and the government. But, who else is involved in this project? Who are the funders of this project, because this agreement has some striking clauses in there that we could come here today, debate and agree. From what we know Emilio Zabaneh is a Belizean. But there is nothing that prevents him from unilaterally divesting himself of these shares next week without telling the government, or if his company can’t meet his obligations these funders can come in and take over the port.”
The Southern Workers Union has thrown its full support behind the Southern Deep Port or Commerce Bight Project. Their position was brought to the fore by N.T.U.C.B. Senator Glenfield Dennison. On the other hand, N.G.O. Senator Doctor Elma Kay shared that this is yet another port projection without a comprehensive cruise port policy and plan for the country.
Glenfield Dennison, Union Senator
“I bring a message from the Southern Workers Union who have been actively seeking an audience with me and invited me personally to Dangriga to be able to appreciate more deeply why they are in support of this bill. I have prepared some notes but it would be remise of me not do give you directly from the mouths of that union. The workers of that union wrote me and I quote, we have observed that the government of Belize is committed to the growth, development and transformation of the nation’s economy. There is a pressing need for economic activity to take place in Dangriga Town. It is for those reasons that the Commerce Bight Pier Port as is being brought to us by the Southern Deep Port Facility Bill is essential for job creation, economic sustainability and development that was done with consultation with the southern workers and its members.”
Elma Kay
Dr. Elma Kay, N.G.O. Senator
“This bill really reminds us of or has once more brought up a discussion for yet another tourism port for Belize while to date we continue without a comprehensive cruise port policy and plan for the country. We really need some clarity on our direction with respect to cruise ports. The repurposing of an existing facility like this commerce bight facility, the smaller size of the development, the nature of the development, as a public private partnership investors, are all leagues ahead of the ongoing mega cruise tourism port fiasco our country has found itself embroiled in. as a country we do need to do better and we will continue to challenge our government administration to work with all stakeholders in developing a vision and plan, particularly as it concerns ports and tourism.”
Belize has expressed its support for the International Court of Justice’s stance on Israel’s policies and practices in Palestinian Territory. The government’s Press Office issued a press release, stating Belize’s support of the I.C.J.’s position in which it ruled that quote, “Israel’s legislation and measures constitute a breach of Article Three of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination” to which Belize is a party,” end quote. According to Article Three, States Parties condemn racial segregation and apartheid and seeks to prevent these practices in territories under their jurisdiction. The release goes on to state that the I.C.J. opinion upholds Belize’s National Assembly resolutions in 2022, which affirm that Israel’s regime of systemic oppression of Palestinians is a regime of settler colonialism and apartheid. Belize takes special interest in the fact that the I.C.J. determined that as a consequence of Israel’s practices, Palestinians have been deprived of their right to self-determination for decades now. The I.C.J. concluded that Israel must end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as quickly as possible and provide full reparation for the damage caused by its wrongful acts that have displaced Palestinians.
Tonight, we bring you the inspiring story of sixty-one-year-old Caryl Meighan, who is expressing heartfelt gratitude for being alive after receiving life-saving heart surgery at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Meighan was told last November that he needed surgery to replace a mitral valve in his heart. Earlier today, we sat down with Meighan, who shared that just a few months earlier, he had tragically lost his brother to the same condition. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the full story of Meighan’s remarkable recovery.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
The ticking you are hearing is coming from Caryl Meighan’s chest. It’s coming from a valve placed inside his chest. It’s that valve that is keeping him alive today. Meighan is a survivor. About ten months ago, the sixty-year-old began experiencing pain in his chest and a shortness of breath. He sought medical advice and was told that he would need to undergo heart surgery to fix the issue. Meighan was scared.
Caryl Meighan
Caryl Meighan, Patient
“Now for me it was very a bit scary because I had lost my brother during the same surgery, similar to that, but the only difference was that he did his surgery in November. Los Angeles, California. Just six months before I was there. When I mention it to my woman and family members, he sent up some red flags like you sure and where are you? Where are you going to do? I tell him when I’m going to do it at K.H.M.H.”
The word ‘surgery’ is alarming enough, but “heart surgery”? That would scare even the bravest soul. But, despite his anxiety about the procedure, Meighan knew he couldn’t continue living in that condition. He recognised that he needed to undergo surgery for the sake of his future and that of his family.
Britney Gordon
“What was like the breaking point for you that really made you think I have to try and do it?”
Caryl Meighan
“My mobility, the tiredness, I was feeling it was coming on more and I couldn’t do certain things for myself. I was that was getting into my head. I figured, I gotta deal with this. I start launching more questions to doctor about the surgery and stuff like that. For me, I really made up my mind to do it after I was directed to a patient that had a year or so earlier successfully and go to surgery done by the I’m going to be the same doctor and after speaking to the lady, she’s a little bit older than me. I felt comfort. I said to myself, if she can do it, I can and then I saw her mobility or she was moving around yes, that’s what I want to do. That was when I decided I’m going to do it.”
Meighan’s surgery took place in June at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City, and since then he has been recovering. Everything had to be perfect to allow for a high percentage of success. That is why anesthesiologist Lydia Blake and her colleagues had to properly prepare for this life-saving surgery.
Lydia Blake
Lydia Blake, Anesthesiologist
“I remember we had to cancel him the first month because of the same breathing problem he had and the day before we did it, I went to visit him with my anesthesiologist that comes Dr. Rice that came for doing the surgery because I told him this is one of my patients that they really need us to put all our eyes and teeths together because he has everything and he will be a challenge. And he was a challenge for me just in the intubation after I put on this arterial lines. I had to sit him in a sitting position to do, intubate him, got him, thank God.”
Though challenging, Meighan’s surgery was a success. Blake says that Meighan was one of the most difficult cases she’s experienced in her eleven-year career. But it is success stories like his that make her grateful for the work that she does.
Lydia Blake
“I just went on my knees and I thank God and I say, these are the things that make me want to continue to be part of the cardiac team. And not just the cardiac team, but working in KHMH, because we do miracles every day here. Despite everything, we come and we give our all and we do. And the greatest satisfaction is when I see those patients walking out there and remembering me and calling me, Hi, Nurse Blake.”
And it is because of the nurses and doctors at the K.H.M.H. that Meighen is now able to walk around his house, laugh, and be with his family. For that, he is grateful. A procedure like this is not unusual for the team at the K.H.M.H. Meighen is around the seventieth open heart surgery patient whose life has been saved by the doctors and nurses.
Adrian Coye
Dr. Adrian Coye, Cardiologist
“The most important thing is that he had the opportunity to have the procedure done here in Belize to be around his family in very close support. And therefore, again, it justifies what we are continuing to do which is to build, a service advanced cardiac program that will service all our patients in their times of needs and of course in the future we’d be able to do emergency heart surgeries.”
Although still in recovery, Meighen is ready to hop back into action and live his life to its fullest potential.
Caryl Meighan
“I plan to recoup and get back to work as soon as possible, you know. That’s it sitting home is kinda killing me, it’s get, I’m bored already.”
The Government of Belize is borrowing a total of twenty-four million U.S. dollars from the Inter-American Development Bank. The matter was debated today by way of two loan motions. The first is for ten million U.S. dollars to be invested in sustainable urban development projects in Orange Walk, Corozal, and Ambergris Caye. The second is for fourteen million dollars meant to improve the efficiency, quality, and access to healthcare across the country. These loans will also come with five million U.S. dollars in grant funding. Michael Peyrefitte, the Lead Opposition Senator argued that the Briceño Administration has borrowed exorbitantly since taking office in 2020.
Michael Peyrefitte, Lead Opposition Senator “Madam President we keep borrowing and borrowing and borrowing. We keep hearing the Minister of finance say we are doing so well, and the economy is expanding. The economy is expanding at such an alarming rate, but we have to borrow approximately fifty million Belize dollars to do essential services from what I see you are saying you want to do on the paper. From the life of me I cannot, I don’t want to hear this is practically free money, loan dah loan. And we are up to one point seven billion in under four years. We have come to this National Assembly to borrow one point seven billion with a B with nothing to show for it. That is not counting anything like treasury bill. The government issued a treasury bill note in July to be matured in October for sixty-four million dollars. We are not counting those. This is straight external loans we take on in less than four years, one point seven billion dollars.”
In response to Peyrefitte’s criticism, P.U.P. Senator, Christopher Coye explained that the Government of Belize has invested significantly in healthcare and that the results have been subpar. Coye explained that entering into loan agreements with multilaterals like the I.D.B. opens opportunities for analytical support to better understand the relevant needs of the sector.
Christopher Coye, Government Senator
“What we have seen is that Belize has spent quite a bit of money in health care. In terms of comparator Belize has spent more per capita in health care than it’s Caribbean neighbors. But the results have been substantially subpar. That is where we have to look at how we address the specific challenges in the delivery health care services items that have been identified are the challenges in noncommunicable diseases, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, some of the leading causes of death in Belize. Those are some of the areas we can address. But if we don’t understand the problems, we are facing we are like headless chicken. That is where we need to look at where the data is, gain support of these multilateral to do the analysis and then target in an efficient and cost-effective way the use of scarce resources to address these challenges. That is what these loan motions are about.”
The Senate passed a resolution today to extend the state of emergency in specified areas of Belize City and the Cayo District for an additional two months. This extension follows the initial proclamation by the Governor-General on June twenty-fourth, 2024. Recognising the necessity and urgency of maintaining the state of emergency, the Senate resolved to extend the proclamation for a further two months. This extension aims to continue addressing the conditions that warranted the initial declaration. However, the extension did not receive the full support of the Senate. Opposition Senator Michael Peyrefitte expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of the state of emergency, arguing that it would not make any difference if the security forces were demoralized. Church Senator Bishop Moses Benguche called for a comprehensive strategic plan to fight crime, and Government Business Senator Eamon Courtenay defended the state of emergency, stating that it has allowed residents in the targeted areas to enjoy greater safety and freedom.
Michael Peyrefitte
Michael Peyrefitte, Lead Opposition Senator
“No amount of state of emergency will make any difference, and we could extend it for 10 years. It will not make any difference if the security forces are demoralized. You could have a million state of emergency. What you have is a minister of police who is not made for that job. What you have is a minister of home affairs who the gang elements, quite frankly, are, do not possess a healthy fear for. They don’t respect him. So as long as you have that person as the face of your home affairs and face of the police department, they will continue to laugh at the administration. The Prime Minister needs to appoint a proper minister of home affairs to take care of business and to let the criminal elements know that we are not playing any games with them.”
Kevin Herrera
Kevin Herrera, Senator for Private Sector
“I also think that there is a larger issue. That larger issue that government has is to protect the law abiding citizens as priority in this country. And so I imagine that is where we’re going with this motion to request to further extend the time by two months. The culture that these gangs have created Madam President, is one of intimidation and violence. And it has lived significant physical impact on this country, but not only physical. There is also a tremendous psychological effect. People live in fear.”
Bishop Moses Benguche
Bishop Moses Benguche, Senator for Churches
“I want to make a suggestion. That one of the things that must be done in this, in this day and age is to be able to come to come up with a strategic plan in fighting crime. And when I say that, it must not only be the state of emergency, because Madam President, one of the things affecting Belize today, especially in the two areas mentioned, that is the reason I made sure that I mentioned them, both the in Cayo area and that strategic part of the Cayo area and in those strategic places in Belize City is that it is and we will find out that a lot of what is happening in insofar as crime is concerned in those areas, Madam President have to do with turf war insofar as drugs is concerned.”
Eamon Courtenay
Eamon Courtenay, Senator for Gov’t Business
“It is because of the state of emergency in specific targeted area part of Belize and a part of the Cayo District that the good people in those areas are now able to walk freely and enjoy the amenities of life because the guns in those areas have been taken off the street and are incarcerated. In response to Senator Herrera, yes. This was intelligence driven. It was targeted surgical to disrupt a turf war that was taking place. The reduction in crime in those areas is proof that the intelligence was right. And the measure was appropriate.”
Senators today debated the Convention of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE) Motion. Belize signed the convention on May 7 in Mexico City. The ALCE aims to establish an international organisation to enhance regional cooperation in space technology, research, and exploration. This initiative is expected to benefit Latin America and the Caribbean in areas like agriculture, disaster management, security, oceanography, and urban planning. During the Senate session, Opposition Lead Senator Michael Peyrefitte questioned the government’s decision, citing existing infrastructure challenges and the high costs of space technology. In response, Senator Eamon Courtenay highlighted the benefits of joining ALCE, such as using space and satellite technology for disaster management, agricultural planning, and environmental protection. Here is a portion of the debate.
Michael Peyrefitte, Lead Opposition Senator
“Space? We going do that space? This government, Madam President, can’t even finish one road on the Coastal highway and we sign treaty to go to space and coordinate with satellite. Madam, President from what I’ve read space technology is like the most expensive technology you can get engaged in, right ahead of the oil exploration technology. I would like to hear, Madam President, if I may, from the Minister of State, Senator Coye, exactly how much this will cost us. Because nothing when you hear space cheap. Space expensive. And if you look at the agreement that was signed, when you look at article three, it talks about the financial obligations member states from this convention shall rule after his entry into force for each member state. But what financial obligations? How much will this cost the country every year for this so called space technology?”
Eamon Courtenay
Eamon Courtenay, Senator for Gov’t Business
“The purpose of this existing organization is to use space and satellite technology to harness information to enable people to plan, to enable people to avoid disasters, to prepare for disasters, to collect information on soil, on topography, to understand the forests that we have, to increase our ability to have higher yields in agriculture, in order to protect our forests. There is absolutely no harm in us joining, I’ll say. Benefits will redound to Belize and Belizeans. There is, at this time, no cost to Belize. If cost is going to be incurred, it will be minimal.”
While its members have been individually playing music for decades, the Latin combo that will play your favourite musical Latin hits in San Pedro this weekend have only been playing together for a few days. They will be the main feature for Belize on Latino Night at the 2024 Belize International Music and Food Festival. The two-day show festival will take place at the Saca Chispas Field, and to ensure that their sound is on point, the group has been rehearsing at the Artist Development Centre on King Street in Belize City. Today, the media showed up for day two to listen in and to talk with the band members and those who put it together. News Five’s Marion Ali serves you this week’s edition of Kolcha Tuesday in this report on the Latin Combo.
Marion Ali, Reporting
The Belize International Music and Food Festival is an international show that aims to help sell the Belize tourism product internationally, and on occasions like these, it gives people like our musicians another chance to shine on that level among invited international artists in the hopes of making it big at some other international stage. Sunday, the Latin Combo takes the stage.
Josue Carballo
Josue Carballo, Director, Industry Development, B.T.B
“Sunday, we’re starting off early from 3 to 12, and we’ll be having Punta Rock Legends and the Latin Explosion Combo both on that night. They will actually be entertaining us and we hope know that is all our hope that these combos and then eventually use the Music fest as a platform to then showcase to the world and who knows they’ll be invited in other places as a time goes by.”
The B.T.B.’s Director of Industry Development, Josue Carballo, says the band will be the prelude to the main event on Sunday night. These are the three vocalists who plan to wow you with their singing talents. What they and their band members describe as work was today literally music to our ears.
Philbert Leslie
Philbert Leslie, Vocalist
“We work hard to blend and get the music going together, but yeah, it’s going well.”
Bernadette Gilharry
Bernadette Gilharry, Vocalist
“I just feel excited and I’m proud of being part of the group.”
Roman Canul
Roman Canul, Vocalist
“I started from when I was much younger and right now we’re taking it back into the music again.”
For more mature folks, these tunes are gems, but they are also tunes that most youths are not familiar with because they have been shelved and replaced with modern genres.
Philbert Leslie
“Bringing back music first that has played so many years when they placed it on the table, it was like, a lot of youths haven’t heard it ever. And I think it would be wonderful to let them know the music that was played before and enjoy what the elderly people used to play. They can look out for one of my singles in Mi Barrio. They can look for Miss Bernadette, one of her singles as well.”
Marion Ali
“Which is?”
Bernadette Gilharry
“Vete, vete.”
Philbert Leslie
“And the music from the Professionals that was given to us to rehearse and show the public and the world the kind of music we’re portraying and showing now.”
The whole show will come together through the efforts of people like Al Obando, a seasoned musician who has attended music festivals the world over. We asked him how they get their individual sounds to blend into that one harmonic tune that fans love.
Al Obando
Al Obando, Organizer, Belize Music Project
“This group is made up of members of five different groups. One love band, Mr. Watson group. Lucio and his original generation. And who else? Gilharry, Miss Bernadette, and Mr. Evan, one of the elders from the Gilharry 7 band. He’s been there from 1973, 74, one of them. Each combo has a leader. The leader of the Punta Rock Legends group is Chico Ramos. Carlos, Carlitos, I call him, is the curator for this group. You have Denmark Flores with the Paranda Soul group. And you have James, it’s a James Sanker for the Bruk Dong Roots Combo.”
The songs were carefully selected based on their popularity back in the day, and Al Obando says they hope to take you back to memory lane if you were around then, or delight your soul, if you weren’t here when these songs made the music charts.
Al Obando
“Many of us, all of us actually are happy to be playing these songs. We have never been played before. Like I asked the question, right? How come bands never play these songs from the professional harmonies? What happened? And so when you actually start playing it, we see all the challenges and then we say, man, those guys must have been like sick musicians that where they come from, because even for us to play it and the love back there, he have so many hours playing the saxophone, but you give him a challenge and then everything turned to reality, right, like it’s a serious stuff.”
